Has a Christian ever deconverted because an atheist made fun of them?

Question

Ok, the satire of Douglas Adams helped in my case, but that's different. He made fun of everyone :)

For context--this is in response to some of the comments I've seen by some of my fellow atheist on here. I think some of these comments are just feeding the Christians persecution complex . . .

To H:
Yes I learned my faith and as a kid and a teen I took it very seriously. I was even the *only* teen who joined the adult prayer circle before the sunday services. When I had a question I scoured the Bible for answers and I knew my Nazarene theology. Unfortunately there were some major issues that nether or these nor the aplogetics books I read could answer.

Answer 1

Hardly. On the Internet, I've really only seen a handful of Internet trolls who are actually as clever as they suppose themselves to be.

Factoring out the Internet for a moment, I think atheists (not all, but some) tend to think Christians are less intelligent than a lot of them are. And I suspect many atheists also look at their reasons for disbelief, which they consider to be rooted in reason, and suppose that because their belief can be sourced to a rational outlook, that those of their would-be opponents cannot be.

As a result, atheists tend to play a pretty weak hand with Christians in debate - they really do tend to underestimate them. They ply them with pesudo-logical paradoxes (that in fact have serious logical flaws to them) such as "can God make a rock too big for him to lift it?" And they'll toss out such red herrings as the "Flying Spaghetti Monster", one of the most poorly devised apologetic devices ever constructed in the history of theological debate.

I think the more convincing arguments made by atheists tend to be the ones that take religion seriously - Paul Chamberlain's "Can We be Good without God?" I thought was a superlative and well argued work, though I didn't agree with some of its conclusions about the nature of religious belief.

But I can imagine a person being convinced by an argument made like that, because you are being taken seriously. Mockery has been taken out of it. I doubt too many people ever change because they are made fun of - there's no quicker way to shutter someone's ears.

Answer 2

I am sure it has happened. That is the danger when a believer does not bother to learn his faith. He will convert, or become an atheist.

I've heard: "I was a Catholic for twenty years before I learned the truth and became a Witness of Jehovah;" or, "I was a Baptist when I converted to Jehovah's Witness."

My response is, "If you had bothered to learn your faith you never would have left;" and "What Baptist Church did you belong to, the Southern Baptist, Anabaptist, Primitive Baptist?"

The first responded with tears in her eyes and no words. The second replied, "What do you mean? I thought there was only one Baptist Church?" Duh!

I understand that Charles Taze Russell (founder of the Jehovah's Witnesses) was originally a Bible Christian. An atheist destroyed his faith and he briefly became an atheist himself. Then he 'found himself' and founded the Jehovah's Witnesses. It is just my opinion, of course, but he should have stayed an atheist.

H

Answer 3

You mean fell away from their religion? I don't think deconverted is a word.

Yea, I'm sure there is. It says so in scripture that people felt shame and felt ridiculed because of what they believed. They weren't strong enough to keep the faith and went with the crowd. I don't know of anyone current. It's usually something personal that happens.

Answer 4

Unfortunately it does. It temporarily happened to me when I was between 11 to 13 years old. Some people are of such low self esteem they take other people's opinions about them very seriously. especially an atheist whom they really respect. But I wish this does not happen to any Christian.

Answer 5

I deconverted because fellow christians made fun of me. how is that for satire. im dead serious too! shame fear and guilt are not natural to feel all the time. christianity is a sick twisted religion. stop tryign to defend it as if it were pure.

Answer 6

It just goes to show how weak human beings really are. Whether being converted or falling away. Few keep the same beliefs...or non beliefs for a lifetime.

Answer 7

Most Athiests believe there is no hope of converting Christians.
Since logic doesn't work. Since their complete lack of any evidence for God doesn't phase them.

So they make fun of them out of frustration.

I'm not trying to justify it. That is just what I think happens.

Answer 8

Yes. Profound atheists has caused many people to fall.

They are the scum of the earth. Period.

Answer 9

I dont think that, if you are a real Christian nothing can make you stop believing

Answer 10

all they do is reinforce my belief in God, and make me feel sorry for them & I pray that GOD will have mercy on their souls, but no it really doesn't bother me